Apologia Church

Isaac Banegas

The Sermon on the Mount is the most popular sermon in the history of the world. In the beginning of the sermon, the Lord Jesus pronounces divine happiness (blessings) upon His people. He promises blessings upon His people for things that seem upside-down. Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are the meek? Blessed are the persecuted? And in today's message: Blessed are the merciful. Seems out of place for many. What if we are wounded? What if we are abused? Doesn't God care about justice? Isn't God concerned with truth? How can Jesus pronounce divine blessedness upon those who are merciful and tell us that the mercy-ing ones are the ones who receive mercy? Open your Bibles and ask God to open your hearts and minds to this glorious truth. Soli Deo Gloria! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, May 3, 2015

This Lord's Day, we are going to explore God's Word about the subject of suffering for the cause of the Gospel. God calls us out of darkness and into His light. He then empowers us to live lives of obedience and delight in Him. The great joy we have set before us is to know God and to make Him known. I want to emphasize that: Joy. However, as we get on our beautiful feet to proclaim the Good News to the world we will inevitably be confronted with difficulty, persecution, and at times very serious suffering. How are we to walk through these moments? Let's get into His Word. Soli Deo Gloria! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, March 8, 2015

Gospel means "Good-news". In the Scriptures, it is referred to as Good-news of the Kingdom (Matthew 4) and God's Good-news (Romans 1). God is sovereign over salvation; down to every nut and every bolt of its accomplishment and its application. However, it's vitally important for us to remember that God uses the proclamation of the Gospel to bring His elect to Himself. We are the means of the grace of the Gospel when we proclaim it to the lost. God calls us, all of us, each and every one of us (Yes, you.), to bring the message of salvation in Christ into the very fabric of our daily lives. But, how do we do it? What do we say? Let's dig-in. No King but Christ! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, February 8, 2015

In the Lord Jesus' famous sermon on the mount, we have the promises of divine happiness upon the most unlikely (humanly speaking) of candidates. The poor, the mourners, and now, the meek. The promise of divine happiness upon the meek extends to a point that is very easy to miss. It's not that it is hard to miss. The Lord was not unclear or hiding His statements. We don't have to spend a few months in a seminary course learning how to translate Greek or about fancy systems of Biblical interpretation: Thank you, Professor Herman Newticks. That was a theological nerd joke for those of you paying attention. Jesus' statement was, and is, straightforward: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Inherit the earth. Did you catch it? Doesn't sound like what we're accustomed to hear- ing in our current context. That's why it's easy to miss. We can be so focused on es- caping this world, so focused on the evils around us, and so focused on what seems to be defeat all around us, that we can miss what is a clear and direct promise from the lips of our Savior: God's people will inherit the earth; not the wicked. Close your eyes. Take a breath. Meditate on that. Fix your eyes upon the Sovereign God Who controls the future and trust in His promises. The earth is the Lord's. No King but Christ! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, January 11, 2015

This week let us ponder the words of Jesus' Sermon. These are the blessings: Matt 5:1-12 Soli Deo Gloria!

(Apologies for the poor audio quality of the original recording) After spending a few days in Philadelphia at the Herald Society, I thought it would be a blessing to our community to share the message I preached at the conference. The men and women in attendance were bringing glory to God and testifying to how they were challenged by it. Note: the first 10-minutes of this message are missing. That does not detract from the sermon. Also, the audio itself is not superb, but, is still worthy to post. By God's grace, I pray that God stirs us. Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, October 26, 2014

(Apologies for the poor audio quality of the original recording) John the Baptist plays a significant role in the New Testament record. Many will be interested to know that John the Baptist was a well-known figure in the 1st-century outside of even the New Testament record. Flavius Josephus (a Pharisee and participant in the Roman vs. Jewish war) writes about John the Baptist's death at the hands of Herod. He says: “Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the baptist [the dipper]. For Herod had him killed, although he was a good man and had urged the Jews to exert themselves to virtue, both as to justice toward one another and reverence towards God, and having done so join together in washing-” Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119 What is the significance of the John the Baptist figure in God's story? Why is it compelling that John the Baptist came preaching repentance and that he was the forerunner of Messiah? Why is it doubly significant that John the Baptist preached about the "Kingdom of Heaven" being "at hand". I think the answer will anchor your heart to Jesus and might just transform your life and the world around you. No King but Christ! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, June 8, 2014

May 25, 2014 • Jeff Durbin • The Kingdom of God Share Download John the Baptist plays a significant role in the New Testament record. Many will be interested to know that John the Baptist was a well-known figure in the 1st-century outside of even the New Testament record. Flavius Josephus (a Pharisee and participant in the Roman vs. Jewish war) writes about John the Baptist's death at the hands of Herod. He says: “Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the baptist [the dipper]. For Herod had him killed, although he was a good man and had urged the Jews to exert themselves to virtue, both as to justice toward one another and reverence towards God, and having done so join together in washing-” Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119 What is the significance of the John the Baptist figure in God's story? Why is it compelling that John the Baptist came preaching repentance and that he was the forerunner of Messiah? Why is it doubly significant that John the Baptist preached about the "Kingdom of Heaven" being "at hand". I think the answer will anchor your heart to Jesus and might just transform your life and the world around you. No King but Christ! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, May 25, 2014

Matthew has prepared the ground. He has given us the marvelous announcement that the Davidic King had arrived. He had the right to the Messianic throne. He is the substance that all the prophecies were pointing to. The time had come. God was and is faithful. As we open Matthew chapter 2, I want to dwell on and think through the powerful promise that is quoted by Matthew from Micah. We often miss the beauty of what Matthew is thinking about because we don't go and put our eyes on the actual text that is being quoted. Look at the rest of Micah's text: And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; Micah 5:4-5 And, this morning, we will celebrate this promise fulfilled. This morning we will talk about how God will use us in its continued fulfillment. Soli Deo Gloria! Jeff Durbin Lead Pastor/Elder Sunday, April 13, 2014